Last fortnight I wrote about getting back to basics as your business grows. This was through the principles of knowing your numbers, getting inspiration and doing market research, customers and their ideas, your teams’ insights and looking outside your business to a mentor or coach.

But what if your business is not currently growing?

Just when we thought we could say goodbye to 2020, along came 2021 with the same, but somehow different challenges. So, if you have found yourself, once again, working from the dining table and trying to survive in business, it can be just as beneficial, if not more so, to get your business back to basics.

Here are some more strategies on how to bring your business back to basics.

Set Priorities

What are your top priorities? What are the most important, timely and relevant things in your business right now?

Write them down.

Once you know what your top priorities are, you can focus your attention on this list. Have it somewhere you can see if you need to.

Anything on your To-Do List that does not align with these priorities can be put on the backburner. You do not need to do everything now. Postpone if you need to, you can even completely cancel some things. Feeling like a hamster on a wheel of items on your To-Do List is not going to help you right now.

Find out what your basic and top priorities are and do them, only them. At least until you are in a position to re-prioritise.

Systems and Processes

Look at your systems and processes. If they are complicated, strip them back. Ask yourself if each item in your process is necessary and if your systems are the right fit. If anything in your systems and processes do not align with the priorities you listed as above, do you really need them?

If something is not driving the overall health of your business or gaining you revenue, then you don’t need to be doing it.

Products and Services

If you have products or services that are doing so well right now, think about if you really need to offer them. Strip everything back to the most revenue driving and customer serving products and services you have.

Alternatively, there may be some things that your customers need right now that they didn’t previously. Think about other product or service streams that could complement your current offerings and may bring in more revenue at this time.

Ask yourself what your customers really need right now, then adjust your products and services accordingly.

Check in with your community

Once thing that has come out of the last 18 months is the need for community. Everyone is feeling it at the moment, even if they seem further away from the crisis points. Check in with one another, have empathy and listen to each other. That includes your customers, your team members and the community as a whole. This may not seem like a business decision, but you may just find that building those relationships will serve you in the long run.

Set your priorities and try to drop the rest, strip everything back to the basics and you won’t just survive this uncertain time, you may actually find you grow and thrive.